I finally got around to playing Nano-Combat Training today. I don't think there's been an island preview-game since Game Show came out in 2011! I created a video as well as a written guide on how to beat this game the fastest.Also, a side note: The Virtual Virus Costume is among the most wickedly amazing on all of Poptropica! I highly suggest storming private multiplayer rooms with it.

In this game, you are in a round, white, flying pod equipped with two guns (pointed the same way) and a laser cutter. A word of advice: AVOID THE LASER CUTTER. It is useless and only gets in the way because you can't shoot while using it. And on the topic of shooting...

Every time you collect a red power-up (it looks like a pill with POW printed on it) your Ship Level increases. Every time you crash into something or get shot, your Ship Level decreases. The higher the ship level (0-4), the bigger and more powerful projectiles you shoot. What exactly are you shooting in this game, anyway?

The object of Nano-Combat Training is to basically try to blow up as many mechanical "viruses" as you can. In the words of the instructions: "Obliterate anything you encounter". The enemies come in three colors: white, yellow, and red. White viruses are easier, smaller, faster... red viruses are tougher, bigger, but slower. Each enemy has red "eyes" that get dimmer as you shoot at them, turning light brown when the virus is just about to explode. Your enemies come in five families:

Gunners They come in groups of two or three and are the only ones that can actually shoot at you. Same amount of hits needed to kill it as the octopi. Best strategy: Spin around in a half-circle, then shoot until it fires off a shot, repeat.

Octopus Usually come alone or in groups of two, and can follow you around the screen. Not much harder to beat than the Bolts. Best strategy: Just shoot them, okay!

Snakes These are the scariest-looking, but in fact are not very difficult. They take about as many hits as flying triangles. One thing to watch out for though: if there are more than one, they can trap you with their tails. Another possible trap: you can get injured by hitting any part of it, but they are only harmed if you shoot straight at the head. Best strategy: Shoot head-on from a distance until they come within one inch of you, fly around to the other side, repeat.

Bolt The simplest. The only move in straight lines or slightly waving lines. Best strategy: get in front of their lines and shoot them head-on.

Spinning Triangles These usually come with snakes or octopi and move slowly for a while. Then they start spinning and charge at you, dealing quite a bit of damage. They also can take many hits. Best strategy: fly around them in sharp ovals and ignore them until they are alone. Shoot them until they start spinning, then fly around behind them and shoot. Repeat.

The Difficult part: Steering the Ship

Steering this ship can only be described as... it's a miracle that you even got this far. It has lots of momentum and the area you fight in has almost no friction, so be on the safe side by moving as little as possible, or move only in straight lines. Timing is crucial for turns -- see the video for ways on how to do this. Here's a description of the powerups:

Red This "levels up" your ship's guns. Ignore this one if you are on level 4 -- otherwise it will go to waste.

Blue This increases your health. Ignore this one if you have full health now -- it will just go to waste.

Purple Be extremely careful with these! They may seem tempting because they destroy all bolts and significantly reduce the strength of all viruses on-screen, but after using one you can't move your ship for about a half second. Also, it's accompanied by a horribly distracting white flash.

Boss Fights

The first boss is so easy to beat it's not even funny. It shoots spinning red bolts which are kind of hard to avoid, but he has almost no flexibility and you can just shoot, twirl around him to the other side, and keep shooting until he explodes; this is sooner that you might think.

The last boss is a bit tougher because he's a snake (more flexibility and much more speed) and because he can shoot from both his head and his tail. If you want any hope of beating him, stay away from his bullets! It's just too hard to blow him up without level 3 or 4. My strategy is to lure him to one corner of the screen, then sneak out and fly to the opposite corner. Then I flatten the spacebar in his general direction until he gets too close again. This works well because his bullets spread out too far to hit you if he's farther away, but your bullets alway fly in straight lines, so they don't have that problem.

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